


Give Glimmering Light

by MapleleafCameo



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bakery, Birthday, Birthday Magic, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25627804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MapleleafCameo/pseuds/MapleleafCameo
Summary: Jack had never explored this part of Providence before.
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Comments: 43
Kudos: 163
Collections: Jack Zimmermann Turns 30!





	Give Glimmering Light

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt "Birthday Magic". It may not be quite what the prompter had in mind. It wasn't what I had in mind when I first wrote it. I have a whole other fic started that is not even close to what this turned out to be. Hopefully some day the remains of that other fic will get posted. Because this is an AU there is no COVID-19 in this. Were it that easy.  
> Thanks mattsloved1 for looking it over!  
> All blessings upon the Great Goddess Ngozi for her characters.

On Jack's thirtieth birthday, his life changed forever.

It started first thing when his mother called.

"Happy Birthday! _Bonne Fete, mon beau. La Breithe Shona dhuit!_ "

"Thanks, Maman," Jack said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Even he, an early riser, couldn't compete with someone who never slept.

"My goodness. You're thirty today."

"Yes. Thanks for the reminder. Didn't we discuss this last night?" He smiled. It didn't bother him, but it seemed expected.

"You know what that means!"

Jack sighed. "But I don't necessarily believe it."

"Just because you don't believe, doesn't make it untrue."

With another sigh, he said, "I love you, but you are a pain sometimes."

Alicia laughed, "So your father says. I just want you to keep an open heart."

"Fine. I will keep an open heart."

They chatted for a bit, Alicia asking what his plans were. He answered vaguely about walking around the city, seeing where things took him. He could almost hear her smirk.

He said goodbye, got out of bed, showered, dressed and grabbed a quick breakfast. He planned on treating himself today and spend it doing something he'd meant to do for the last five years.

Before heading out of the door, he slung his camera around his neck and placed a Falconers' ball cap on his head, thinking where he planned to go, it unlikely he'd be recognized.

The sun, fierce and bright, kissed his skin with prickles. The air felt humid, but not heavy. Heat radiated off the pavement, but a light breeze helped it from being so hot that he'd turn around and go home.

On his birthday, he wanted to enjoy it his way. No parties, no commitments, just a sense of freedom and possibilities.

He walked out of the building and down the street. He stopped now and then to snap photos of anything that caught his eye; street art, a dog, clouds overhead. Nothing outstanding.

He followed whatever whim told him to turn left or right and eventually ended up in the part of town he'd seldom been before.

He knew he'd crossed into the wilder part of town almost right away. Providence had its share of green spaces, but there was something more to it here. More in the way, the green space predominated, and the asphalt, brick and steel had become the accent. Trees lined the streets, and some even grew in the middle of the road. Hanging baskets swung outside every shop, and plant boxes bloomed a profusion of flowers and herbs in front of every window. Large butterflies and multicoloured bees flitted amongst all of the blossoms, along with a variety of slightly larger denizens. While more vibrant than other parts of the city, the colours of the buildings also complimented one another and seemed to flow in almost discernible patterns. The street art richer, the smells intoxicating and of course the people.

They preferred the term The Folk. It encompassed a variety of different types.

Tall, short, blond and brown, dark of skin and pale, as common as any city, but mixed in were colours humans never carried. Hair colour, yes, for blue and pink and fiery red came out of a bottle as easily as anything. Still, most humans with green hair didn't also have a river of daisies growing from their scalps and streaming down their backs or ram's horns or translucent dragonfly wings or a myriad of other differences.

There were dogs and cats, some on leashes, some upright wearing nicer clothes than Jack. He did a double-take when he saw the cold drake heeling beside an impossibly lovely woman. 

The odours were different, too, the air sharp with spices and wildflowers. A multitude of languages, some musical, some harsh, filled his ears. 

It had never been his intention to avoid this part of town, but he'd also never made an effort. He'd certainly missed out, his eyes feasting on the beauty and tranquillity. Part of him knew he'd always been too busy or had felt too busy, but part didn't want the attention. He'd fought rumours his entire career that his heritage had played too big a role in his success. His talents were seconded to his birthright in the minds of many, including his own. Sometimes.

He wandered the streets, stopping now and then just to drink it in. He needed to bring his parents here. There were differences from similar places in Montreal his mother would find interesting.

Just as his stomach rumbled, he discovered a little bakery, tucked away near the end of one street, almost hidden by a mass of flowers.

The sign hanging above the door reminded him of old tavern signs he'd seen in Ireland. 

The Daisy Bakery, it said, painted in gilded green. Daisies entwined the lettering. Daisies, geraniums, asters and all manner of wildflowers grew in the baskets, and there were herbs in the window boxes. On the glass door, a variety of stickers read _Most Major Credit Cards Accepted, Fairy Gold Exchanged at par_. There were small Pride, and Black Lives Matter flags and a Humans Welcome sign, along with flyers for Karaoke Night at the Leprechaun and Selkie Pub, Anansi Story Hour at the Library and an offer of a reward for a lost tanuki.

The scent of baked goods hit his nose as he opened the door, and his stomach rumbled some more.

The inside shone clean and bright. A large glass display-case filled with pastries and cookies took up the long wall, and a huge chalkboard menu behind it listed the specials, coffees and teas, and sandwiches and soups. At one end stood a refrigerator containing drinks and chilled desserts and, at the other, a variety of tables and chairs, none matching but all blending harmoniously. Yellow curtains hung at the windows, and several shelves of plants lined the walls. At a table in the corner sat a pooka, munching from a plate of dandelions and drinking tea. Near the counter, a young Asian woman sat in front of an easel, painting. She glanced at Jack, raised an eyebrow and continued working. 

Approaching the counter to place an order, he tentatively smiled at the youngish looking person behind it who smiled brightly back. Jack took in dark brown eyes and blond hair, the small compact body. A cute, upturned nose and pointed ears and the slightly blue tone to his skin, indicated he was most likely Fae. The gossamer wings draped down his back were a giveaway, but it wouldn't be polite to ask or assume.

A sign at the register, in neat printing, read, _Please let us know if you have any allergies or if you are Human_.

"What can I get for you on this fine day, good person?" His voice rang sweet with honeysuckle vowels that spoke of the South rather than the Emerald Isle. The nametag on his shirt read _Bitty_. Another below it read _He/Him_.

"Um, hi?" Jack found himself unaccountably nervous. His heart raced a little. "What do you recommend?"

Bitty, tilted his head and looked at Jack, with a deep penetrating stare. "Hmm, you're a tough one."

"Pardon me?"

"Well, I hear so many things in your accent, and you smell like ice and steel, mixed in with a bit of Fae. May I ask after your heritage? Some don't like it paraded out loud, particularly those that live among the Humans." He clapped his hand over his mouth. "I'm terribly sorry! That was exceedingly rude. My Mama would smack me silly for saying that."

Jack grinned and shook his head. "No, I don't mind. Can I ask why you want to know?"

His pale blue skin blushed a becoming lavender, obviously embarrassed. "Um, well, we make our baked goods to suit a variety of the Folk. If you're fully human, I would suggest the items in this section. They won't accidentally poison you or turn you into something you don't want to be at the moment." He pointed to various cookies, tarts and pies with tags labelled strawberry, lemon curd or chocolate chip.

"But if you were Sidhe, I would offer these." He pointed to some spider web and anise scones, moonbeam and lemon cookies, lavender and ice wine pie. "If you were from the North American communities, I would suggest the pastries over there or from the Asian communities, the far ones there. If your heritage isn't represented by any, I would ask you to take a seat while I whip you up something special." He beamed. "We tend to cater to the communities we have the most in the area, but we don't like to disappoint."

Just then, another employee entered behind him through a swinging door. He wore a flour-covered apron, and his skin was so covered with freckles as to look tanned. Small horns stuck up through the red curls of his hair. Although he scowled a bit, his tone softened as he spoke to Bitty. "Nurse just showed up, Boss. Alright, if I take my lunch?" 

"Of course, Dex. There’s some of that leek and potato soup left if you'd like."

Dex nodded and glanced at Jack. His eyes widened. "Wow," he said, then blushed and scurried back to the kitchen.

Bitty looked puzzled as he stared at the still swinging door and back to Jack, but shook his head and smiled.

Jack ignored the look of an obvious fan and said, "My mother is Sidhe, but my father is a mystery. Human, most likely. I'm from Montreal." He shrugged.

Bitty tilted his head. "Hmmm. Okay, have a seat over there, and I'll be right out with something special." He blushed again. "May I have your name? For the order." 

"It's Jack."

"Jack. That's nice." He couldn't look any more purple if he tried.

Before he went into the kitchen, he brought Jack a cup of coffee, rich and dark. No sugar or cream, so he somehow knew that's how Jack took it. It had a rich aroma that held a hint of cinnamon.

Jack took a seat beside the window and watched the flow of pedestrians walk by. 

In less time than he thought possible, Bitty came back out carrying two plates. To one side, he set down a thickly layered smoked meat sandwich on homemade rye bread with a gigantic dill pickle and a little pot of what looked like grainy mustard. He placed a slice of apple pie in front of Jack. The flakey crust had a thick sprinkling of sugar crystals over the top. 

"Now normally, I would be telling you to eat your main first, but this pie is freshly made and the perfect temperature. So I suggest you eat it right away."

Jack looked at the pie and then at Bitty. "What is it?"

"That would be telling."

Jack smiled softly and cut into it with his fork. The first bite filled his mouth with the taste of apple, but also something else, flavours blending to enhance the apple rather than take away. He let it sit in his mouth for a minute, swallowed, took another bite and said, "Maple?"

Bitty grinned. "Yes! Very good! But what else?"

Jack closed his eyes with the third bite and thought. He opened them in surprise. "Nectar?"

"Yes! Just an infusion of honeysuckle. It makes the Pixies and the People of the Hummingbird intoxicated, so I never add much. Most full-blooded humans wouldn't notice, but I figured with your mother being Sidhe, you'd appreciate it." 

"It's incredible. My mother doesn't do much traditional cooking, but Nana does. Although, we don't see her much, what with the time differences. Thank you! This is wonderful."

"Wait until you try the sandwich." Bitty winked. "I'd better get back behind the counter." He paused and then said, "And Happy Birthday to you. In my family, that's considered to be a magical day, your thirtieth. My Granny says you meet the love of your life on that day. May good fortune smile upon you."

As he walked away, Jack stared. He dragged his eyes back to his lunch and shook his head slightly. It felt a little like he'd been hit with a two by four. 

He thought about it while he finished the slice of pie. The Fae were full of such sayings, and most were just that. 

But.

Musing about last night's conversation with his mother, he ate the tasty sandwich. He kept finding his eyes tracking Bitty behind the counter. 

The young Asian woman appeared to have finished her painting. She sat back, nodded, put down her brush and then stood and stretched. She walked over to the counter to chat with Bitty. Jack pretended not to stare as Bitty walked past to pick up the dishes left by the pooka. He looked back at the woman, who grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up. She went behind the counter when Bitty brought the dishes back and grabbed them out of his hands before shooing him to Jack's table.

Bitty stood hesitantly for a minute. "May I sit down with you?"

Jack nodded. Several times, he opened his mouth to say something, thought better, and shook his head.

"Honey, you can ask."

He had been going to say, 'How did you know it's my birthday?' Or even ‘How the hell did you know I’m thirty?’ What came out of his mouth instead was, "Would you like to go out sometime?"

He felt his face redden and then said, "I know I shouldn't ask you while you're working, but..."

Bitty smiled his warm smile full of sunshine and mysterious moonlit walks. 

"Thank you, Jack. I would love to go out sometime." He paused. "Are you free tonight? No big plans? I close up at six, and I'm sure I can get Dex to clean up if I ask him nicely."

"Tonight would be great!"

"Wonderful! I know just the place if you'd like to go for dinner."

"Sounds fantastic. I guess I should go home and freshen up." He smiled shyly and started to walk over to the register to pay. A small, firm hand gently held his arm.

"Oh no, mister. This is on me. A birthday present."

"How _did_ you know it's my birthday?"

"Jack, I'm a Fairy. It runs in my blood."

Jack smiled. "See you at six?"

"You bet."

He walked back to his condo, his heart light and a smile on his face.

~

They sat outside on the restaurant patio, enjoying the beautiful evening breeze. Fireflies and fairies circled, competing to see who could produce a better light show. 

The Hobgoblin waiter brought their drinks, beer for Jack and a rose petal wine for Bitty. The drinks delivered, he took their dinner orders and hurried off.

Bitty took a sip of wine and then played with his stem. He blushed again, fetchingly and somewhat distractingly. Clearing his throat, he stared at Jack through lowered lashes, smiled and asked, "Did you not have other plans tonight? For your birthday?"

Jack smiled and said, "Not really. It felt like the kind of day to explore the city. I haven't been to the Fae quarter before. At least not past the first block or so. Too busy, I guess."

"Busy?"

"Yeah, with work, and I'm, hmmm, I guess, I'm not what you would call social, so I don't get out much."

"What do you do, Jack?"

"I play hockey."

Bitty set down his glass. "Professionally?"

Jack nodded. "Yes. For the Falconers."

"Oh, fun! A celebrity!" Bitty teased but didn't seem bothered or overly excited by Jack's revelation. Relief folded him. That was a nice change. Bitty continued. "No wonder Dex hopped around the kitchen like a maniac. He's a huge fan. He used to play until his knees gave out. Satyrs damage their knees easily. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you."

Jack shrugged. "It was kinda nice. People treat me differently, and I didn't want that."

Bitty put a hand on his chest. "I will completely go back to pretending you sell insurance or are a software developer."

Jack laughed. "It's all good."

"So why did you decide to visit today? Just because it's your birthday?"

"Partly. Also, my mother."

"Your mother?"

"You remember I told you she's Sidhe? She said the same thing to me, you did."

"What was that?"

Now Jack blushed. "That I'd meet the love of my life on my thirtieth. She did. She met my father on his birthday." He frowned. "His thirtieth and her semblance's thirtieth. It was more than her thirtieth."

"Her semblance?"

"Yeah. She's an actress and being full Sidhe, her image won't appear on film, so she has a semblance stand-in. Created to look like her. It's quite remarkable. Better than the motion capture stuff they do for Humans."

Bitty gulped. "Should I ask who your mother is? Will I get all flustered?" He giggled nervously.

"Alicia Flynn."

"Oh, My Gods! Of course, she is! I should have known. I will not tell you she's my favourite actress."

"Haha," said Jack, tickled over Bitty's reaction to his mother's identity. "She would be flattered. She isn't acting as much anymore. She tends to get bored easily and works on new hobbies every couple of decades, I guess. I mean I've only known her as an actress. She went from stage acting to film and then to voice work, but now she's interested in dying and weaving if you'd believe it. Owns sheep and everything."

"What about your father?"

"He played hockey, although he's retired now. Does commentary now and then, plays golf. Oh, and he thinks he's a chef, haha."

They're meals arrived, and the waiter brought them more drinks. The night wore on, but the conversation never stopped. Jack had never found it easy to talk to people, but this was effortless. They talked about Jack's childhood and the difficulties of being the son of famous parents, the struggle to live up to his perceived notions of his father's expectations. Bitty told him about growing up in Georgia how his family was one of the few Fairy clans in the area. He tried going to school in a predominately Human area, but it was too hard. He told Jack about learning to skate and how much he'd loved it, but the cold took a toll on his physiology, and he'd had to spend too much magic staying warm.

"I was exhausted all of the time. I switched to baking. I mean, I baked as a hobby, but I decided it suited me, you know? I left home, and I went to a proper chef school and everything. Samwell not only has a course on cooking and even how to run a restaurant, but also has courses on the history of food and how to cater to different Folk. And I loved being in the North, despite the cold." He winked at Jack. "Here, being Fae in a big city, it's a lot easier than in Georgia. And being gay. I mean, most Fae don't care who you sleep with as long as it's consensual and not hexes or enchantments, but my parents have had a hard time with it. They were kind of swayed by the norms of where we lived. They're more accepting now. At first, they were all 'Are you sure you're gay? Don't you want to marry a nice Fairy wife and settle down? How will you carry on the family line? Blah, blah, blah.' I'm like, 'Yes I' positive I'm gay, and I'm pretty sure there are lots of ways to have children if I want kids, Mama!'" He sighed and shrugged.

"My parents are pretty good. They, um, they don't care as long as I'm happy. I think at this point, they just want me to find someone. They think I'm lonely."

"Are you lonely?"

" _Do it_ ," said a voice in his head, suspiciously sounding like his mother. Jack looked at Bitty, deep into his eyes. He leaned forward and took Bitty's hands in his. He smiled and said. "I was. Maybe not now."

Bitty bit his lip. He leaned over and brushed his lips on Jack's cheeks. He whispered in Jack's ear. "I've been waiting for you to turn up. What took you so long?"

~

They walked hand in hand back to Bitty's apartment. Just outside the door, on the sidewalk, in front of every passerby, Jack leaned in and kissed Bitty good night. Bitty's arms went around his neck and pulled him in for a deeper kiss, and Jack gladly held him close.

He could taste the sweetness of the wine on his tongue; he could smell the pleasant, homey odour of the bakery and the sharp, clean scent of wildflowers, which made Jack's heart race.

They kissed for a while, broke apart, stared into each other's eyes, touched, kissed again, tried positions that worked best. Bitty trembled in his arms. Jack noticed that the trembling came from Bitty's wings, which fluttered with each kiss.

He broke off and leaned his forehead against Bitty, catching his breath and stilling the ache that couldn't be satisfied so soon.

"Bitty."

"Yes, Jack?" Bitty whispered.

"I'd like to see you again."

"Me too." He placed a hand on Jack's cheek.

Jack kissed him again. "It's too soon for more than this, but I'm hoping..."

"Yeah." Bitty kissed him back, hard and fast, his tongue flickering in and out. His wings fluttered more rapidly with each flick.

Jack took a deep breath. "That's incredibly hot."

Bitty chuckled, leaned back and with an evil grin, said, "You should see what happens in bed." He then darted forward, pecked Jack on the cheek and ran into his apartment building with a wave.

"I think I'm in love," he said to no one in particular.

He chose to walk back to his condo, even though it was late. He thought about Bitty all the way home, his laugh, eyes, kisses, and the kindness he showed at every opportunity. His mind drifted toward when they might take it further, and Bitty's parting words about his wings. The want and desire tempered by the knowledge that they'd just met, no need to rush into this. There was plenty of time to learn all of him; to learn what he liked, what he tasted like and if his wings moved when making love. He smiled—the joy of discovery, a promise waiting for the next day. 

Entering his condo, he dropped his keys in the dish on the little table, toed off his shoes and made his way to the living room. He took out his phone and touched the first name on the list.

The phone rang once, twice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Maman. Sorry to call so late, but I just wanted to let you know." He paused. "I met someone."

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from A Midsummer Night's Dream
> 
> Through the house give glimmering light,  
> By the dead and drowsy fire.  
> Every elf and fairy sprite  
> Hop as light as bird from brier.  
> And this ditty, after me,  
> Sing and dance it trippingly.


End file.
